Upbeat: United we fall

THOSE London orchestras: smart money is now being put on the three competitors for one grant ganging up and refusing to tender. So a process that has outraged opinion by appearing to set them at one another's throats - even more than they already are, that is - could end up by turning them into buddies. That way, the theory goes, the Arts Council will have to make the choice itself instead of hiding behind a fog of bids and calculations. Who knows, they might even say they want the London Philharmonic out of the South Bank residency, and the Philharmonia in.